1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fence assembly including a swivel bracket in which the fence rails are adjustable and may be mounted at any of various angular orientations to the fence posts. More particularly, the invention permits the fence posts to be set in the ground, or another suitable support surface, and a fence rail then is inserted between posts via an opening in the swivel brackets.
2. Description of Relevant Art
It is known in the prior art to secure a rail member to a vertical post in an adjustable manner, i.e., to select a particular angle between the rail and post and secure the rail at that position. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,772,159 discloses a stair rail connection in which a spherical connecting member is disposed between the balusters and the hand rails to allow the angle of connection therebetween to be varied.
It also is known to construct a fence in which the rails may be adjusted angularly relative the vertical fence posts. U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,176 discloses a fence connector assembly including a bracket that is received over a fence post, the bracket having oppositely directed pairs of flanges. Between each pair of flanges is secured a U-shaped swivel bracket that forms a pocket which receives the end of a fence rail. By swivelling the bracket in the horizontal plane, the angular orientation of the fence rail relative the fence post can be changed within the horizontal plane. The swivel bracket in the 4,923,176 patent, however, does not permit angular adjustment of the fence rail in other planes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,907 discloses a stanchion connector assembly with a ball and socket type connection including a sleeve member received in the rail member and a mating spherical portion affixed to the stanchion. The rail and sleeve member may be angularly adjusted relative to the stanchion to fix the rail at the desired angular orientation. The sleeve member includes a cylindrical collar and a curved plate welded thereto. Although the aforementioned patents disclose rail systems in which the rail may be adjustably positioned and then fixed to the support post, several shortcomings are present in such systems.
In the construction of fencing, workers often will set, i.e., fix the position of a vertical fence post in the ground, on a cement support surface, etc., and then secure an end of the transverse fence rail thereto. With an end of the fence rail secured to the fixed post, the next post is set and the opposite end of the fence rail is secured to the second post. The end of a second fence rail then is secured to the second fence post, a third post is set, and the opposite end of the second rail then is secured to the third post, etc. In this manner, the workers move along the length of the fence setting posts and securing the rails between the pairs of adjacent posts.
One problem with the above approach is that it requires placement of the rail between the two adjacent fence posts in order to fix the position of the second post. That is, it is not possible to fix the position of all the posts and then secure all the rails to the already fixed posts. This is because the respective components cannot be placed in a butt joint relationship with the fixed posts. As such, the rails must be selectively positioned and secured to adjacent posts in series-like fashion along the length of the fence. Accordingly, it is not possible with such systems for a crew to first set all of the fence posts, for example, while the rail sections are being fabricated in the shop. Thus, known fence or rail systems impose limits on the flexibility and freedom in which the systems may be constructed or installed.
Another problem with the above-described fence systems is that the adjustability of the rails relative to the fence posts is relatively limited, and the attachment apparatus includes several components. In addition, the range of adjustability between the rail and posts of prior art fencing often detracts from the aesthetics of the fence due to, e.g., slots, bolts, etc., being visible in the completed assembly.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a fence system which is easy to construct, provides improved flexibility in its installation, provides a wide range of adjustability of the rails with respect to the posts, and has an overall aesthetically pleasing appearance.